Curiosity Killed the Frenchman
by Mort Rainey
Summary: Pick up after the revolutions have ended
1. A New Begining

It was the middle of the night. I was brutally awoken from my soundly death in that cold, dark, humid, machine burial cave. I only asked one question: Why haven't they killed me? I stood up and felt the sweat dripping from my forehead. My legs felt as if they had been in the metal teeth of vices for a long time now. Being that there was no light source, I grabbed two of the rocks they had laid me on. Hit after hit, i finally had a spark and on that bed of wood,there became a fire. I looked around and saw what no human's eyes should have to see. It was a catacomb. Machine catacombs. Knowing there had to be a way out, i buckled my boots and started running. I had to get out of there. A tiny pinhole of light gradually became bigger and eventually became the catacomb entrance. I stopped. Why? I didn't know but something told me I should go back. I ran back. Now I knew why I went back. I saw her and undid what had been done.   
  
  
  
"When will you be back?" asked Morpheus  
  
"However long it takes me," I replied  
  
"Neo," Trinity said, "don't die."  
  
I walked down the street to Hel Club.   
  
"I told them not to send anyone with me." I said.  
  
"Yes, I know." Seraph said.  
  
Inside the building there were two golden poles on either side of the hall entrance with purple velvet ropes wrapped loosely around them. To the left was a drink bar. An Arabian man sat there sipping a martini. He looked at me with a stabbing look as I gazed back and saw myself in the glossy reflection of his glasses. To the right on a red silk couch was the Frenchman.   
  
"Pourquoi monsieur Neo? Pourquoi est-ce que tu me trouve?" he said.  
  
"You know why." I said.  
  
"Yes. I do. And here is your answer: I have the father of the Matrix and this time I am not giving him up."  
  
"I thought that the Architect-"  
  
"Wrong," he interrupted, "Neo, Neo, Neo. Didn't you learn anything? Hah. Typical. Love has blinded you. Passion has blinded you. And your own self desires have blinded you. The prophey was a lie, therefore undoubtedly the architect was a lie too. The architect was a program constructed by myself. I needed to sidetrack you, but it seemed as if you were sidetracked by something else. Or should I say, someone else?" he said.  
  
"Trinity..."  
  
"See? Again proves my point of causality. You love her and she gets in the way of what you think is your purpose. When really you have no purpose. It is as simple as that. C'est tres tres facile." he responded.  
  
  
  
I didn't have a response. I was too bewildered now in a deep contemplation.   
  
"Will you see to it that Neo is shown out, s'il te plait?" he asked.   
  
Immediately, the Twins set down their glasses of vodka and rose off of the satin aqua-marine chairs. I didn't wait for them. I turned and walked away and met Seraph at the front entrance.  
  
"Operator," Link said.  
  
"Link, I need an exit."  
  
"Ok, let's see...the closest I have is 3466 North Bridges Street."   
  
"I'm on my way."   
  
To get to North Bridges Street, I had to walk through Mainstay Park. It was a relatively old-looking park. The normal park:trees, benches,and a pond. A flock of birds flew and filled the navy blue night sky with black. I stopped. I felt him, as if he were a part of me. Impossible. Then the words ran through my mind over and over: 'Inevitable not impossible'.   
  
  
  
"Well, well, well. Mr. Anderson back from the dead. Keep asking yourself why and wondering why I am not deleted- or should I say dead? If you don't recall, Mr. Anderson, I am a part of you. A part you can never get rid of. As long as you are around, I am around. Always and forever. However, I am willing to make one more deal with you. Deliver Morpehus to me and I will leave you alone. Never to hear from me again. But, if you do not deliver him to me, I will destroy myself, therefore in part, destroying you. I live to see your death and your fall, Mr. Anderson. It seems the rest of me wants to join in on all of the fun. I have done it twice and now I will do it a third time. You know what they say, Mr. Anderson. Third time is always a charm." Smith said.  
  
"Why should I trust you?" I inquired.  
  
"Because I am a part of you. Unerasable and irreversable."  
  
"No Smith, as you said it is inevitable." I replied.  
  
"Oh I'm surprised Mr. Anderson! You should have learned by now! But you are right about one thing, it is inevitable that I am going to get Morpheus whether you like it or not. You cannot stop the inevitable, Mr, Anderson."  
  
"You're right. I can't," I said. I turned and ran. I could feel him getting closer and closer. Into an alleyway and up a chain-linked fence. I was almost home.   
  
Trinity pulled the plug and touched my hand.  
  
"Neo, are you alright?" she asked with a concerned look.  
  
"Yea. Yea I'm fine. He's back. That part of him that was copied on to me is indelible."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"It means that in order for him to be destroyed, that I must be destroyed."  
  
"Isn't there another way?"  
  
"No. It is the only way. As long as I am breathing, he'll be breathing."  
  
Morpheus entered the main deck and inquired and I explained.   
  
For hours, I was lying awake in my quarters staring at Trinity. I couldn't sleep. All those sleepless hours I pondered what the Frenchman told me. Tomorrow would hold an answer. I slept.  
  
The shadows crept across the street and the cold wind had died. It suddenly grew hot and dry. I saw a woman standing across the street from me. I tried to call out, but nothing came out. She just stood there staring at me. A shadow crep up from behind her. It was the darkest shadow I had ever seen. A bright light appeared in the sky and lit the street up. The light was the brightest around her and I realized who that woman was. Trinity. I also realized who the dark shadow was. It was Smith. He walked up behind her. Immediately I ran to her but something wasn't right. I wasn't moving anywhere. With all my strength I tried and tried to run forward but i still wasn't moving. I looked at Smith again. He stopped about three feet behind Trinity and raised his Desert Eagle to her back  
  
"Trinity!" I finally screamed.  
  
Smith fired the gun and shot Trinity in the back seven times. She fell to her knees and screamed, "Neo! Where are you?" The blood poured from her chest and back and her eyes became glazed. I shouted her name again but it was now apparent she couldn't hear me. She fell on the ground in a maroon pool of blood. The sky darkened once again and Smith became a dark shadow again. He walked closer to me. I stopped trying to run. He put the gun to my head.  
  
"No!" I screamed and sat up in the bed. Trinity was next to me still asleep. 


	2. Delve

Again I sat for hours gazing at her untill she awoke many hours later.  
  
"Neo. What are you doing?" she asked.  
  
"I can't sleep. The dreams...are so real."  
  
"They're not real. You know you can tell me anything if you want. You don't have to if you dont want to...but I just want you to know that I will always be here for you." she said as she took my hand.  
  
"I need to go back. Listen. Trinity. Would you think I was crazy if I told you that I think that the Architect was a program that was created by someone much more powerful?" I said.  
  
"What makes you think that?"  
  
"I talked to the frenchman. And he said that he was the creator."  
  
"How can you be sure that he, himself, isn't a program?"  
  
"I can feel it. There's something about his presence...I don't know. It is hard to explain."  
  
I sat in the chair ready to go. She placed her hand on my chest. I gazed into her eyes. It looked familiar as if I had seen them like that once before. Only once. My thought was broken by Link.  
  
"Okay people. Let's make this happen." Link said as he plopped down on his chair.  
  
I looked back a Trinity and her familiar eyes.  
  
  
  
"Mind if I join you?" she asked.  
  
"The pleasure's all mine." I responded.  
  
Walking by her side that night was like a dream. The streets were all wet and shiny as the reflection of the street lights danced on it. Parked cars with rain drops on them glistened and all was silent. A cold wind blew suddenly. I recognized it. It was the same feeling I had when I looked into her eyes. Like I had seen it before. I had felt this before. We walked into Hel Club, managing to pass the doorkeeper. Trinity followed me inside. 'Where are you?' I thought to myself. What I did see was a man walking towards me quite rapidly. He was tall. Very tall. Taller than I was. He was wearing red silk pants and a black silk shirt. Around his neck, was a thick metal chain. His hair was a dark dusty brown color that matched his eyes.  
  
"Excuse me. The Merovingian does not wish to speak with you now. May I give him a message for you?" the man said.  
  
"Look, Sparky here's the deal: You let us speak to Merovingian or this gun is going to give you a little gift," she said cocking her gun.   
  
"Follow me, then," he said and slowly turned. 


	3. Power

I followed close behind Trinity who followed close behind the man. I had insisted that Trinity not come. I remembered what happened the last time she had jacked into the matrix against my will. If anything happened to her this time...I don't know what I would do. I could feel the sweat drizzling down my forehead. Questions about what the frenchman had riddled me with and questions about Trinity flowed through my head like an electrical current. I gathered my thoughts and crammed them in the corner of my mind and kept following Trinity. We came to a door-obviously a back door. It was large and looked to be made of solid gold with two giant elephants carved into them. Emeralds adorned the elephants' eyes and the border of the door. We stopped about five feet in front of the door. I watched the man pull out a brass skeleton key from the chain around his neck. He unlocked the door and opened it and the hinges squealed.   
  
  
  
"After you," he said to Trinity and me in a somewhat cocky voice. Something wasn't right. I could feel it. The room had a dark, muggy feel to it. I took my glasses off. Trinity. Her presence left me. She was no longer in the room. The man lit a bowl of sticks and light filled the room. Trinity was gone.  
  
  
  
"Where the hell is Trinity?" I demanded.  
  
"Don't worry, don't worry," the frenchman said laughing.  
  
Immediately I felt the sabatoge that came upon me like a tiger. I was now adorned in thick ropes and couldn't fight back. I just couldn't find the strength. The frenchman rose up off of his black cashmere chair and came up close to my face. I could feel the heat his face gave off.   
  
  
  
"Well, Neo. I wish everyone back in Zion could see you right now. Such a messiah for everyone. I mean just look at you. You realize that you cannot win. I am more important than I seem and obviously you do not see that because of your blindness! Blindness. Blind to me and your little love of your life is responsible for it. I tell you what, I am going to let you in on a little secret, Neo. I have been sidetracking you with all this crap about oracles and architects and machines." he said.  
  
"Why?" I asked.  
  
"Just so I could demonstrate my power. I sidetracked you because I wanted everyone to see you fail eventually. Well, Neo your time has come. The oracle was a carefully designed program of mine- so was the architect."  
  
"What about the machines and the machine lord, Deus Ex?"  
  
"All programs. They did not work how I had expected them to. I expected them to destroy Zion and all the inhabitants. They were the first of the programs to have a separate independantly thinking program. Kind of like a human mind. Do not we all have free will? Cannot a program be given free will too? What makes them any different from humans? But that is beside the matter. The machines rebeled against me so I terminated them. That is all that matters now. And oh yes, my men are taking good care of your little love."  
  
He stared into my eyes and I stared right back into his glassy eyes.  
  
"Take him to see his woman," the frenchman said.  
  
With little struggle they dragged me down a flight of cold, wet, cement steps into the private level of Hel Club. One of the four men that escorted me down there opened the cell door. With a brutal shove I was locked in the cell. Trapped.   
  
  
  
"Okie dokie. You got yourself into this Neo....now get yourself out," It whispered to myself. I closed my eyes. Energy surged through my whole body. I felt her again. I turned around and looked in the dark corner. It was Trinity. She was in the cold, damp corner passed out. I ran over to her and picked her up. I held her tight so nothing could tear her from me. I sat down in that corner and held her all through the sleepless night.   
  
I could tell the night had turned into day. Sunlight seeped through the tiny hole in the back wall. I sat there, still holding her and her hand finally grasped my hand tightly.   
  
"Neo," she said in a groggy voice.  
  
"Yes. I am here," I whispered.  
  
  
  
I put two fingers up to her lips.  
  
  
  
"Shhh...just rest," I said softly.  
  
  
  
I closed my eyes and began to rest them. A few moments passed. The silence was shattered by the two of the Merovingian's men. The Merovingian followed not too far behind. They walked up to the cell. The two other men did not look too well-built and were not very tall. I laid Trinity to the side against the wall and stood up. I took a few steps towards the men. I did not get too close. The Merovingian walked up and put his hands on the cell bars.  
  
"This is a waste of my time. Do what you like with him," The frenchman said. 


End file.
